this thought has prompted me revisit my favorite genre of movies, best exemplified by the movies of Paul Verhoeven,: Action movies with social subtexts.
I think its worth putting this out here since it is a subject that I am fond of. There is a genre of action movies that came about during the 80s (at least the ones I'm aware of, I would love to find out about earlier ones): Big summer blockbuster action flicks that contain thinly veiled, left leaning, social critique. Great examples of these are:
- They Live - Rowdy Roddy Piper uncovers a conspiracy to keep the working people down perpetrated by free market zombie aliens.
- Escape from New York - Manhattan is cut off and turned into a lawless prison island, where criminals and enemies of state are marooned and left to fend for themselves.
- RoboCop - One of my all time favorites. Omni Consumer Products (OCP) privatizes the Detroit police force in an effort to have the city destroy itself so they can build a corporate-owned city on its ashes. What they didn't count on was that the fundamental humanity of their mechanized lawman, RoboCop, would ultimately win out.
- Running Man - In a future owned by the media companies, the judicial process is replaced by the highest rated gameshow in the country, and a wrongly accused man must (literally) fight the corrupt system to regain his freedom
While socially minded films like An Inconvenient Truth, Outfoxed, King Corn, and Sicko are exploring important issues and provoking debate, many times they are just preaching to the choir. People watching these films have usually made their mind up about which side of these issues they stand on, they're either open to the film's argument looking for new ammunition to back their views, or they disagree with the views espoused in the movie and are looking for something to rail against.
the great thing about these 80s action flicks is that they contain biting social satire, but couched in a format that is going to sell tshirts, action figures, and hopefully reach the hearts and minds of the people who may be least aware that there even is an issue.
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